Building Your BounceBackAbility

Rationale

The case for building personal resilience to change has been advanced by many. The underlying belief governing the approach to resilience found in this booklet is:

Sustaining our individual wholeness and allowing ourselves to flourish, whatever the circumstances, is essential to living a good life. Only if we are integrated (whole) and not fragmented, will we find purpose and meaning. This requires that we feed (maintain and nourish) our inner and outer lives – through reflection and relationships. And through a resilience-capacity that keeps things together and healthy. Resilience, reflection and relating are interconnected. They work together to enhance our physical, intellectual, emotional, social and spiritual health. The booklet overflows with practical tips, reflections and exercises that enable you to develop each of the nine characteristics of a resilient person.

Drs Allen Zimbler and Caryn Solomon, who drew on early work by Dr Suzanne Kobasa to develop their Personal Hardiness Assessment (a companion to this booklet), encourage and wish improved resilience and well-being to all who undertake to, and work on their resilience.